


Together, in a Peaceful World

by GaHoolianGirl



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Discussion of Abortion, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Married Couple, Post-Canon, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pregnancy, There are mentions of stillbirth and abortion just a warning, They don't HAPPEN but they're discussed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22364392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaHoolianGirl/pseuds/GaHoolianGirl
Summary: It was fair to say that Byleth hadn’t seen very many babies in her lifetime. Mercenaries rarely came across infants, and whenever a baby was born at the monastery, it was Manuela or one of the students training to be a healer that would attend to the matter, not her. Suffice it to say, children were a huge blind spot in Byleth’s ever growing knowledge of the world.Which is why, when Marianne joyfully announced that she was pregnant, her mind was thrown into chaos. There was a baby...inside her? Her body, whose heart once did not beat and barely qualified as living, was now the beginning of a new life? All the possibilities of what could go wrong, what dangers the helpless newborn would face, spiralled around her head like a boat on a tempestuous sea, and there was a word to describe her reaction, she would later learn:panic attack.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 112





	Together, in a Peaceful World

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on this for months because for some reason I was nervous about posting a working which has discussions of babies...well, not living anymore, but it's something that I think is worth talking about considering the circumstance of Byleth's birth, so here ya go.

It was fair to say that Byleth hadn’t seen very many babies in her lifetime. Mercenaries rarely came across infants, and whenever a baby was born at the monastery, it was Manuela or one of the students training to be a healer that would attend to the matter, not her. Suffice it to say, children were a huge blind spot in Byleth’s ever growing knowledge of the world.

Which is why, when Marianne joyfully announced that she was pregnant, her mind was thrown into chaos. There was a baby...inside her? Her body, whose heart once did not beat and barely qualified as living, was now the beginning of a new life? All the possibilities of what could go wrong, what dangers the helpless newborn would face, spiralled around her head like a boat on a tempestuous sea, and there was a word to describe her reaction, she would later learn: _panic attack_.

All she remembered afterwards was Claude’s arms wrapped around her reassuringly, muttering words of comfort into her ear. Marianne had left the room, likely at her husband’s insistence.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here, it’s okay.”

Slowly, his calming voice and embrace quelled the fear she felt until her body stopped shaking and she was once more able to think clearly.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, eyes looking anywhere but his face.

“None of that,” he replied, putting a hand on her cheek to gently guide her gaze up to meet his own, “Being pregnant isn’t something small or unimportant, I completely understand being afraid, even you.”

He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose, before tightening his hold and pulling her closer to his chest. In response to this she reached her arms around his back and squeezed tightly, fists pulling so hard on the fabric of his shirt he thought she might tear it.

“What...what if the baby is born like I was?”

“Like you were?” his eyes widened, recalling the words he saw in Jeralt’s journal all those years ago about the circumstances of Byleth’s birth, “Ah, I see. Unfortunately, I can’t promise you that won’t happen. Stillbirths can happen to anyone, and they never get any less tragic.”

He rested his forehead against his wife’s, locking eyes with her so she could see his determined look, “What I can promise you is that I’ll be by your side the whole time, no matter what you choose.”

His last statement gave her pause, “Choose?”

“If you want to keep it or not. It’s not an easy choice to make, but there are plenty of ways to, well, not be pregnant anymore. Medicinal, magical...people don’t like to do it or talk about it, but it’s on the table, if that what you wanted. _If_ that was what you wanted.”

She could...simply not? Is that what she wanted? She was terrified, that was certain. Carrying a baby to term inside her, even though the same tragedy that befell her own father could happen once again, to her, to _Claude_.

But...there were times she felt almost drunk on new emotions she was never before able to feel, and imagining all the highs and lows of parenthood was one of those experiences. Bringing up a child in their new, more tolerant world, a world where they did not need to fight to live. To have her finger grasped in their small hand, to protect and love and cherish, together with the man who taught her the feeling of love.

“I think I want to keep it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I can’t say for certain, but for now, I want to see this to the end.”

Claude smiled, kissing her cheek, “It’s your body to do with what you please, and I’m with you no matter what. No matter what.”

A small, shaky smile formed on her face, and she stretched up to kiss him properly, “Thank you.”

* * *

Nine months, give or take a little, there was a new member of the Eisner von Riegan family, a healthy, very much alive baby girl. Breathing more heavily than after any battle, Byleth held the little pink lump in her arms, staring at her wrinkled, wailing face,

“Our baby...”

She turned her gaze to her husband, whose broad smile reached up to his tearful eyes, “Our baby.”

Though those fears that plagued her throughout her pregnancy were not entirely gone, nor would they ever be truly gone, after many nights spent reading books on parenting with Claude she knew that she was not alone in those thoughts. It was natural, _normal_ to be afraid of all those possibilities. And together, the two of them would raise this child in a world that they could not have, a peaceful world. 

The baby in her arms began to wail even louder, startling Byleth, so Claude gently took the child into his own arms, cooing softly until she was once again quiet and contented. As Byleth watched them, she idly thought that she might now be feeling what Jeralt did, all those years ago, and the thought gave her great joy. _I hope you are proud, Father._ •

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought! I tried to be respectful of the sensitive topics I brought up. I also wanted to convey how Byleth isn't making the "right" choice by keeping the baby but rather making the right choice for _her_. Thanks for reading!


End file.
